Middle East & Arab World

​Saudi-led Coalition in Yemen Has Media in Sights after ‘Military Target’ Warning

01 April 2015

The Arab coalition fighting the Houthi rebels in Yemen composed by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Sudan, Egypt, US, Jordan, Morocco and Pakistan- has media organisations in its sights. According to media reports, a military spokesperson for the coalition last Sunday issued a warning to media organisations associated with the Houthi rebels and the former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, describing them as legitimate targets.

On the same day, Yemen Today, a TV affiliated with Saleh, reportedly received a phone call from the coalition with the warning that the TV channel and its staff were from that moment considered a military target. They had to evacuate the building for security reasons.

The IFJ and its Yemeni affiliate, the Yemen Journalists’ Syndicate have condemned any action that endangers the safety of journalists and media staff.